I'm back.

It has been way too long, and I have decided to get back on here to hold myself accountable for the changes i seek, mental, and physical.

The last year of my life, has had it's ups and downs, emotional, and well, my scale and body can attest to this as well.

In October 2011...I was incredibly close to my goal weight, only 35lbs to go.

In November 10th 2011 My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma, a very rare type of head and neck cancer, he had just turned 35...literally got the news the day after his 35th birthday.

I started drinking A LOT, and not paying attention to my eating habits, eating all hours of the night, just to eat, it was my way of comforting myself in a very scary life situation.

I was always strong for him, being as positive as I could be, smiling, even though the pain behind my eyes and smile were growing daily, with everything being unknown. Stage 4 cancer? That is usually a death sentence....We have a family, two young girls, 2 cats, we were just living our lives, not perfectly, but living, and in one sentence...it seemed as if all of that was about to be thrown into the trash.

I also started using Ambien, to help me sleep, which, with anyone attempting to lose weight, is not exactly the best sleep aid to get on. I would eat, and forget I would eat, until the morning when I either found wrappers, or used dishes in the sink.

After Hospital visits, research into the best Oncologist regarding Head and Neck cancer, I put my foot down, and demanded he go to MD Anderson. The Oncologist there was #1 in the nation, the Hospital was right up there. I wanted to get him the very best care possible, so that we could have the very best end result possible.

His surgery came in January, January 6th to be exact, (we had to miss my daughters 2nd birthday 1/4) as we needed to be in Houston for scans and testing prior to the surgery, I still feel horrible for missing her birthday, but it had to be done so her daddy was taken care of!)....one of the longest days of my life, as I sat in the waiting room from 6am-5pm when I was finally allowed to go to recovery and see him. I even got on a 10 day shake fast while we were in Houston, so that I wouldn't have to eat in front of him, as this would be a chore for many weeks to come, and it helped save money, that we desperately needed.

The surgery worked, he has a huge hole in his pallet, could not really talk, or be understood without the use of the obturator to close the hole up, but he was cancer free! The Doctors had gotten clean margins, and after the pathology report, we got blessed with more good news, NO radiation or Chemo! Fantastic!

I think mentally perhaps, I, myself was still, healing & dealing with the toll of a loved one going through cancer. I continued to eat, and drink, I attempted many fad diets, fasts, detoxes for quick wight loss, lost maybe 12lbs each time, but when it came back to eating, i always gained every ounce back, and then some. Why? Because I was not training myself on how to eat healthy and make better choices. My body still craved, carbs, and a lot of them.

I continued to work out at Krav, and still do. November 2012 I accomplished something that I didn't think I could, even with all the weight gain, I passed my level 4/green belt test. Which is the equivalent to a black belt test in all other martial arts, as my instructor explained. Once I accomplished this goal, I knew I had to get my weight back under control.

During the cancer, and healing process, I gained back 40lbs, and have been fluctuating about 5lbs from that up until now.

The holidays are huge in our latin family, and we tend to drink and eat a lot. I knew it would be unrealistic for me to start a new regimen with the holidays upon us. I know myself, and I didn't want another failure.

Starting yesterday, January 2nd, 2013, I began a new program by Drew Canole. The Juice Up Your Life Program & a double (Advanced & kickboxing- 120 minutes) @ Krav.

The first 5 days is called the Alpha Reset, all you intake is fruit and veggie juices, to basically detox your body, and get rid of all the crap that is essentially blocking your body from absorbing all the key ingredients in fruits and veggies, and well overall clean eating. After the reset, it is all about clean, healthy eating, and incorporating 2-3 juices a day for maximum nutrition. So this is the new regimen I am following, still going to Krav, going to amp up how often I go, and I am also going to a few yoga classes to kind of help fire up the weight loss I INTEND to accomplish.

Here's to a new year of health, nutrition, better body image, and education for myself & my family.

I managed to drink about 75oz of water yesterday, which was surprisingly really really hard for me. I think because of the juicing, my body doesn't feel as dehydrated perhaps? Either way, gotta get back up to a gallon a day.

This morning i was 2.5 lbs lighter, than yesterday morning. It's a loss, it's a start!!

I made a green juice for my 2nd juice of the day - cucumber, lemon, green chard, ginger, and carrots....very good, surprisingly! Even my 3 year old (tomorrow :) kept begging to drink mine.

Score!

Tonight, I'll catch another double at krav, with a 7pm Elite class, and an 8pm advanced class. Now to go chug some water!


Light & Love!

Lauren